Watch



fa/Milf.

(No Model.)

G. V. WOBRD.

WATCH.

No.` 271,965. Patented Feb.6,1883.

UNITED STATES PATENT OEETCE.

CHARLES V. VOERD, OF IVALTHAM, MASSACHUSETTS,

WATCH.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 271,965, dated February t3, 1883.

(No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES V. WoEnD, of Waltham, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, haveinvented certain Improvements in Watches, of which the following is a specification.

This invention has for its object to provide certain improvements in watches, relatin g,t`1rst, to the regulator when the same is adapted to be operated from the front or face of the watch secondly, to the construction of the case, wherebythe back of the movement is supported entirely from the front or portion of the case against which the bezel bears, and can be easily applied and removed from the front when the bezel is open 5 thirdly, to the device for operating the hand-setting mechanism by the retraction of the pipe of the winding-arbor, whereby, when said device is applied to the case, it will notinterfere with theinsertion and removal of the movement 5 fourthl y, to the hand-setting mechanism, Wherebyit is adapted to be operated by the before-mentioned device; and, lastly, to certain details, all ot which I will now proceed to describe and claim.

Of the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specitication, Figure l represents a transverse section of a watch-case embodying my invention and an edge view of the movement therein. Fig. 2 represents a front View ofthe movement, (the dial and bezel being removed,) and the case being partly in section. Fig. 3 represents a rear view of the movement detached from the case. Fig. l represents a section on line @c x, Fig. 3. Fig. 5 represents a front view of the watch in its entire condition. Fig. 6 represents a perspective view of the lever for operating the yoke of the handsetting mechanism. Fig. 7 represents a seetion on line y y, Fig. 2.

The same letters ot' reference indicate the same parts in all the figures.

In carrying out the first part of my invention, which relates to the regulator-operating devices, I provide the supporting-plates A A of the movement with an arbor, B, which is journaled in said plates and projects at its ends beyond their outer surfaces. rIhe inner end oi' said arbor is provided with a pinion, C, engaging a rack-segment, D', on the regulator, as shown in Fig. 3. The outerend of the arbor B is provided with a hand or arm, E, projecting over the dial of the watch, and serving as a handle to rotate the arbor, and as ank indicator, showing the position of the regulator. The dial is provided with a concentric scale, F, around the. arbor, and with marks to indicate the direction ot' the movement ot' the arbor required to increase or diminish the rate of movement ot' the balance. The arbor B passes through the balance bridge or cock Gr. Said bridge is provided with an orifice, H, larger than the pinion U, so that the bridge can be applied and removed without interfering with the pinion. Said oritice also forms an unobstructed space around the projecting end otl the arbor, and therefore enables said projecting end to act to a slight extent asa spring and hold the pinion with a yielding pressure against the rack-segment D', thus insuring the effective engagementot said pinion and segment.

It will be seen that the provision ofthe extended arbor on the pinion C or equivalent regulator-operating device,and the operatinghand located outside ot' the dial, obviates all necessity ot exposing the back of the -movement for the purpose of operating the regulator. This provision whereby the watch is regulated from the front enables me to employin a stem-winding watch a case, Gr,t'ormed with a seamless back or shell, substantially as shown in Letters Patent No. 214,042, granted to E. C. Fitch, April 22, 1879, so that the back of the movement is tightly covered, and the entrance of dust is made impossible through the back. The case as a whole is composed otl two general parts-viz., the seamless concave body or shell G, including the back, and the bezel n, having the glass, and removably secured to the body Gby a hinge, or by screwthreads, as in Fitchs patent above named. The case G is provided with an inwardly-projecting seat or lange, I, which is adapted to receive the larger or top plate, d, ofthe movement, as shown in Fig. l, said plate resting directly on the seater tlange of the case, without the employment oi' the interposed ring shown in the above-named patent to Fitch. The plate A is of the same shape in nearly all the movements made by the Waltham Watch Company, so that the provision of the ilange IOO or seat I enables the movement to be applied to the ease without any adaptation thereto. The movement is secured in place by a screw, L, inserted in the case at a point opposite the winding-arbor M and bearing on the edge of the plate A. The winding-arbor, entering the pipe or key 0 in the stem, co-operates with the screw L in holding the movement in place.

N represents a recess or notch formed in the case G, to enable a pointed tool to be inserted under the edge of the plate A for the purpose of raising said plate from its seat in removing the movement from the case.

The pipe or key O ofthe stem has at its end a lange,P, and is capable of a longitudinal sliding movement in the stem, as usual. On the outer end of the key Ois a crown, R, which has an internal screw-thread adapted to engage with an external thread on the end of the stem, so that the crown can be screwed upon the stem and caused to tightly close the same, as shown in Letters Patent No. 237,37 7, granted to E. C. Fitch, dated February 8, 1881, the screw-threads being so formed that the rotary movement of the crown required to screw it upon the stem is the reverse of that required to operate the winding mechanism.

T represents a lever, pivoted at U to the inner side of the inwardly-projecting flange l of the case, and lying, when in its normal position, entirely within the space formed by said flange, outside of the space occupied by the movement, and opposite the space between the plates A A thereof.

To the swinging yoke V, which carries the pinions that impart motion from the windingarbor respectively to the winding-wheel t' and the hand-setting train, is pivoted, at a, a slideplate, b, secured to the plate A ot' the movement by a screw, c, passing through a slot, d. The plate b is thus adapted to slide toward and from the center of the plate A, and is pressed outwardly by a spring, c. At the outer end of the plate b is an arm,f, against which one end of the lever T bears. The opposite end of the lever T has a recess, g, which partially incloses the key or pipe O. l/Vhen said key or pipe is drawn outwardly its ange P bears against the lever T and turns the lever upon its pivot, thereby pressing its opposite end against the arm j', pushing lthe plate b inwardly, and swinging the yoke V, so that the handsetting traiu is connected with the windingarbor, and the winding-wheel i is disconnected therefrom, The key or pipe 0 being released, the spring c restores the plate b, yoke V, and lever T to their normal positions. It is obvious that the pipe O can be withdrawn to operate the lever T only when its crown R is unscrewed from the stem. It will be observed that the location of the lever T entirely outside of the space occupied by the movement enables the movementto beinserted and removed without interference with the lever.

it sometimes happens that the crown lt is screwed well upon the stem and at the same time the movement is nearly or wholly wound up. Under' these conditions it is impossible to unscrew the crown and retract the key or pipe O, for the purpose'of setting the handsin the manner above described, unless the winding-wheel t' be disengaged from the windingarbor. l therefore provide the case with a small orilice, m, (seen in Fig. 7,) arranged to permit a wire to be inserted and pressed against the plate b, thereby moving the yoke V, so as to disconnect the winding-arbor from the wheel t', so that the crown can be unscrewed. The oritice m is covered by the bezel u when the watch is closed.

To facilitate the entrance ofthe winding-arbor M into the key or pipe O when the movement is being inserted in the case, I connect the key or pipe with the crown R in such a manner that the key can have a limited oscillating movement in any direction, and therefore can be inclined so as to move its inner end slightly toward the front of the case. To this end the crown is provided with a socket, 1', and a section, r', is provided, which is adapted to enter said socket and play loosely therein, and is secured by a piu, t, secured in the walls of the socket r, and passing through an orifice, u, oi' considerably larger diameter than the pin. rEhe pipe 0 is screwed into the section r. It will be seen that the loose lit of the section r in the socket of the crown and the enlarged orilice u receiving the pin t enable the pipe and the section r to tilt in any direction. The orifice in the stem, through which the pipe passes, is sufficiently large to give the pipe some lateral play.

it will be observed by reference to Fig. 5 that the arbor B and the center of the index F are diametrically opposite the center of the ordinary minute-index-that is to say, the centers ofthe index F, thefnminute-index, and the dial are all in line. This arrangement gives the dial a neat and symmetrical effect, and it is brought about by passing the arbor B through the iixed plate on which the yoke V is journalcd, as shown in Fig. 2. It will be observed, however, that the arbor B could not be so arranged if the pipe or barrel ofthe winding and setting mechanism were extended toward the center of the watch to the usual extent, because said pipe would extend inwardly beyond the point where the arbor is located. By providing the short pipe 0 and the intermediate devices for operating the winding and setting mechanism l am therefore enabled to produce this advantageous arrangement.

l am aware that it is not new to operate a watch-regulator by an arbor passing through the case and having a hand projecting over the dial. Therefore l do not claim broadly the provision ot' such an arbor.

I claim- 1. The combination, in a watch, of a regulator having a rack-segment, an arbor jonrnaled in the supporting-plates of the movement, and provided at its respective ends with a pinion engaging the segment and a hand or arm projecting over the dial, and the bal- IOS IIO

IIS

ance-wheel. having an orifice larger than said pinion, whereby the bridge is adapted to be appliedV and removed without disturbing` the pinion, and an unobstructed space is provided around the pinion-supportin,9,` end of the arbor, as set forth.

2. The combination of the case, having; the seamless body and back, the inwardly-projecting seat or iange I, and the longitudinallymovable anged winding-arbor pipe or key 0, the lever T, pivoted under said flange outside of the space occupied by the movement and engaged with the flange of the pipe, and the movement, havingthestem-winding and handsetting mechanism and a device interposed between the yoke of said mechanism and the pivoted lever, whereby said lever, when moved by the retraction of the pipe O, is caused to make the hand-setting mechanism operative, as set forth.

3. In awatcll having an externally-threaded stem and an internally-threaded cap or crown on the pipe of the winding-arbor, the case G, having; the orifice m, arranged to allow a tool to be inserted into the case to disengage the z5 key O, terminating` outside the movement, the 3o sleeve i", provided with an enlarged aperture, u, and the crown It, formed with a recess, r, whereby the pipe O is adapted to oscillate or tiltin the stem to allow the withdrawal ofthe movement from the case,substantially as shown 3 5 and described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing` witnesses, this7t11 day of April, 1882.

GHAS. V. WOERD.

Witnesses A. O. SMITH, G. F. BROWN. 

